It’s a sufficiently instinctive and normal behavior for human beings to attribute failure to external factors. We are designed to protect our own opinions of ourselves, hence, when things go wrong, we do not instantly blame ourselves even if we should.

But there are those who are able to look beyond their own egos and acknowledge their flaws, sometimes even excessively. It’s a sign of meekness and modesty, and it opens a whole new perspective in determining the root cause of problems.

Marketing is a dynamic body of efforts and circumstances. There are countless reasons why campaigns fail, and it’s not a surprise considering that this industry deals with consumer behavior. However, people can only do as much as react to the things being fed to them; marketers must accept the fact that when campaigns fail, it is almost always because the strategy was wrong.

Here are 9 ways in which a campaign is doing damage to itself:

Offering when you have nothing to give. Not every idea that pops up inside marketers’ brains need to be declared to the whole world. If it’s not helpful, not timely, not appropriate, not certain, not plausible or not logical, keep it to yourself and wait for it to fully flourish.

Not offering when you have something to give. On the flip side, there’s nothing more detrimental that the thought of an opportunity lost. In the business world, fate rarely provides second chances.

Focusing on what YOU like. You like hosting community contests. You like posting photos of your marketing team on Facebook. You like tweeting trivia about your company. You like talking about your favorite band on your business blog. The question is: does your audience like what you like?

Having a mission without values. Your mission is where you want your company to go. Values dictate how you get there. Without values, people around you will not help you reach the top.

Not knowing what to do with data. Don’t spend hours generating spreadsheets and charts only to stare at them. Data don’t always provide answers, but they can give you a clue on what’s going on.

No drive for perfection. Everybody says nobody is perfect. But that doesn’t mean you can’t aspire to perform your job perfectly. If you have that drive, your actions will be more inclined to success.

Unwilling to spend. Quality comes with a price. The lowest bidder may save you a couple of bucks, but if it gives you poor results, you’d actually end up spending more.

Having a one-track mind. Energy is a valuable resource, so you must use it wisely. If your strategy only centers on one marketing approach, you put a lot at stake. Distribute your energy to achieve multiple levels of success.

Discouraging yourself. When you roll your eyes at your own marketing goals, your entire marketing team will lose direction. Cultivate a culture of positivism. Believe that even the grandest of ambitions are within reach, and others will believe it, too.